Role:
Lead UX & UI Designer
Feb 2015 to May 2015
Platform:
Responsive Web Design (desktop, tablet and mobile)
Overview
The CFSE Portal (Corporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado) is Puerto Rico’s official web platform for worker injury compensation, claims processing, forms, services, and education on occupational insurance. The previous portal was outdated, difficult to navigate, and did not support modern web behaviors—especially for mobile devices. Users struggled to find critical information about benefits, claims, and regional service offices.
At Populicom, I led the UX and visual redesign of the entire portal to modernize the experience, clearly communicate services and requirements, and support injured workers and employers throughout every stage of interaction.
Challenge
The pre-existing CFSE site suffered from:
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Low retention and engagement — visitors quickly bounced without finding what they needed
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Poor navigation — critical actions like filing claims, finding offices, or learning services were buried
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No mobile responsiveness — the experience failed on phones and tablets
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Lack of education and guidance — users didn’t understand their options, steps, or documentation requirements
Our challenge was to create an experience that would help users easily:
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Educate themselves about benefits and processes
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Find and fill out claim forms
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Locate local offices and doctors
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Understand their rights and coverage
We also needed a flexible system for CFSE administrators to manage content efficiently.
Research & Strategy
To ground the redesign, I conducted:
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Stakeholder workshops with CFSE leadership to align business goals
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Site analytics review to identify high-impact pain points
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User flows and persona definition based on actual service needs
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Content audit to understand information gaps and restructure priorities
We discovered that users were task-oriented — they came to the portal with a specific mission (“Find forms”, “Submit claim”, “Schedule visit”). The portal needed to reflect that behavior.
Design Solution
Task-Based Information Architecture
I reorganized the site around actions, not content silos. Primary navigation was reframed to focus on:
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Claim Filing
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Benefits & Services
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Find Assistance (Offices & Hospitals)
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Forms & Resources
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Education & Rights
This reduced confusion and aligned with user mental models.
The redesigned portal was built using a mobile-first, responsive UX approach that introduced an intuitive hamburger navigation on small screens, prominent search placement for quick task discovery, actionable banners for time-sensitive updates, and modular templates that supported both editorial and resource content, dramatically improving usability and trust for users on the go.
After mapping the full set of task flows, I produced detailed wireframes and evolved them into high-fidelity UI templates that established clear typographic hierarchy, consistent spacing, reusable components, and visual cues for alerts, notices, forms, calendars, and dashboards, ensuring a cohesive experience across every screen. To support long-term scalability, I also created a comprehensive style guide along with custom illustrations and component templates, enabling CFSE administrators to maintain and update portal content with visual consistency and brand alignment.
Impact
The redesigned portal delivered:
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Improved discoverability of critical tasks (find offices, start a claim)
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Clearer educational content with contextual help and guidance
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Responsive layout that worked effectively on phones, tablets, and desktops
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Reusable templates that reduced future design effort and inconsistencies
Analytics and internal feedback showed clear engagement improvements and reduced user frustration in usability testing. Most importantly, injured workers and employers could now navigate complex insurance procedures with clarity and confidence.